American forces here plan to operate out of 100 neighborhood garrisons across the capital in the next month as part of the new offensive to secure the city, the American commander in charge of Baghdad said today. Nearly 80 such garrisons are already in operation, he said. The increase in the number of outposts is part of the plan to put American troops back on the streets and in the neighborhoods of Baghdad, living among the Iraqis and making their presence felt. Thousands of additional American troops are expected to enter the Baghdad area by May to bolster the forces already here.“So far, the indicators are they’ll do real well,” the American commander, Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., said of the garrisons at a luncheon with foreign reporters in a fortified building on the west bank of the Tigris River. “But we do expect them to be challenged.”... http://www.nytimes.com

A suicide car bomber apparently targeting a senior city official struck an Iraqi military checkpoint Thursday in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, killing at least eight people, officials said. The blast came a day after the U.S. military said stopping car bombings had become the main focus of a major security sweep to halt the sectarian violence in the capital. Karradah, a major commercial district, has been hit by bombings several times in recent months, including a suicide car bombings on Jan. 25 that killed 30 people. In the city of Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, a bomb in a parked car exploded as a bus packed with workers passed by, killing at least four and wounding 24, police said. A U.S. soldier was killed Wednesday in fighting in Anbar province, a Sunni insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, the military said. A Marine assigned to Multi National Force-West also died the same day in Anbar in a non-combat-related incident that is under ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/15/iraq/main2572760.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_2572760

China has expressed its "deep regret" at a US ruling on a Macau-based bank linked to allegations of North Korean money-laundering and counterfeiting. The US Treasury said on Wednesday that US banks and companies must sever all ties with Banco Delta Asia (BDA), the subject of an 18-month investigation. US envoy Christopher Hill said he did not think the move would block progress on a recently agreed nuclear deal. But it was not clear if Washington's ruling would satisfy Pyongyang. North Korea had demanded that a freeze on its assets held by BDA be lifted. "We deeply regret the ruling by the United States," China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. Mr Qin said the US handling of the BDA case should be "conducive to the handling of the six-party talks" and benefit the stability of the Chinese territory of Macau. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6452857.stm

A nuclear power plant operator agreed Thursday to shut down a reactor in central Japan for inspection after it acknowledged a cover-up of an uncontrollable nuclear chain reaction eight years ago. Hokuriku Electric Power Co. failed to report to authorities that the self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction occurred for 15 minutes at the No. 1 reactor of Shika Nuclear Power Plant in Ishikawa prefecture in June 1999, the company said. Power companies are required by law to report such an incident to the government. "We cannot forgive a cover-up like this," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. "We must ensure safety for nuclear power." Three control rods fell by accident during preparations for a checkup, which caused the reaction, according to the company statement....http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-03-15-japan-reactor_N.htm?csp=34

Thousands of anti-government protesters demonstrated in central Budapest on Thursday and demanded the resignation of the socialist prime minister, overshadowing celebrations of Hungary's 1848 revolution. Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany was met with jeers and whistles from the angry crowd at commemorations of the revolution against the Habsburgs. State news agency MTI estimated 15,000 people attended the midday ceremony at the National Museum. Police announced strict security measures and were on alert for disruptions, but no violence was reported. Some protesters carried Arpad striped flags, a centuries-old Hungarian banner now associated with the Arrow Cross, a pro-Nazi party that briefly ran Hungary near the end of World War II. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2954141

The secret behind Japan's plunging birth rate? A record 39.7 percent of Japanese citizens ages 16-to-49 have not had sex for more than a month — up 5 percentage points from two years ago — according to a survey published this week by the Japan Family Planning Association. Among married couples, the rate was only slightly lower, at 34.6 percent. "This is very bad news for the country's birth rate, and something the government needs to look into urgently," said Dr. Kunio Kitamura, the family planning association's director. The survey comes amid concerns over Japan's faltering birth rate, which fell in 2005 to a record low of 1.26 births in an average woman's lifetime. The decline has stoked fears of impending tax revenue shortfalls and labor shortages. "The situation is dismal," Kitamura said. "My research shows that if you don't have sex for a month, you probably won't for a year."...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/15/health/main2572925.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_2572925